NFL Thanksgiving: CBS Best Since '98; NBC Sets Primetime Record

CBS drew 32.5 million viewers for Panthers-Cowboys in the late afternoon window on Thursday, marking the net’s most-viewed Thanksgiving Day game since reacquiring NFL TV rights in ’98. The game also was up 2% from Eagles-Cowboys on Fox in the same window last year. Panthers-Cowboys was up 11% from CBS’ Bears-Lions in the early window last year (29.4 million viewers). Fast-national figures for the Lions’ 45-14 win over the Eagles in Fox’ early afternoon window were not available at presstime.

In primetime on Thursday, NBC finished with 27.8 million viewers for the Bears’ 17-13 win over the Packers, marking the NFL’s best Thanksgiving primetime audience since launching the window in ‘06 and NBC’s second-best NFL regular-season audience since getting NFL rights prior to the ’06 season. Bears-Packers also is up 21% from Seahawks-49ers last year in the same window.